


paradisus paradoxum

by corrupted_voracity



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, EXO (Band), NCT (Band), SHINee, Super Junior, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Fantasy AU, Harem, I will update tags as I go, Love, M/M, Magic, Magic Shop, Magic Shop!AU, Mentioned Other K-pop Artist(s), Multi, Mystery, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Possessive Behavior, Romance, SM Town Ensemble, Shapeshifter, Slow Burn, alternative universe, basically customers falling in love with taeyong, customer - Freeform, kpop, lapslock, puppy crush, realms, sorcery, title might change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2020-10-05 04:22:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20482799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corrupted_voracity/pseuds/corrupted_voracity
Summary: a new magic shop opens in town, and more than a few people take an interest in the shop's mysterious owner.





	1. no 1: nox divinia

**Author's Note:**

> this is completely self indulgent. like any other fanfic incoming.
> 
> this got inspired by a naruto fanfiction i can't remember the name of, but i will link it if i ever find it again, and the countless interactions at sm town concert. updates are more likely to happen since it's not as heavy and big as 'the light within', and because it's a bit more experimental for me.
> 
> this was not beta read since i was in a rush to post it - all these ideas and chapters that are already finished are just too tempting, so sorry for any grammatical Eerors and spelling mistakes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> delicate and fragile come to his mind, but he knows better than to judge people by their appearance.

he inspects the small sign dangling from a thin branch next to the white, wooden door, making not a single sound as the wind softly plays with it.

two, three symbols are carefully engraved into the dark wood, elegant lines paving their way through the solid material without any blemishes or irregularities. vastly he recoginzes them as the sun and the moon, finding neither letters or any other characters that hint on the purpose of this supposedly shop, but it doesn't need to, not with the magic practically dripping off of the little building.

it makes his skin crawl, a vast line between uncomfortable and adaptable that didn't dip too much into either direction. he smells ancient power, more important, a _challenge_ under the seemingly comforting lull of soft, magical aura that envelopes the place like a gentle blanket, and he has to supress the urge to tear everything apart to find the origin of it all, and to just _consume_.

his breaths even out as a wave of forced calmness washes over him, making him warry of the effect on him this building had. he had been walking on ground long enough to supress most of the urges that came with his type, but that doesn't mean they'd cease to exist given enough time. 

he enters through the door with a slow, but confident stride, eyes inspecting the interior. the air is sweet, not too much for it to be unpleasent, the dull smell of dried herbs and flowers appearent in the last seconds of inhaling. the inside are larger than what's physically possible from the outside, but he doesn't bat an eyelash at the fact, far too accustomed to the various practices of magical power. shelves make up most of the room, their colour dark in contrast to the often colorfoul items they display.

the light source, he observes, are various, pink coral birds, their tails long, elegant, and ending in a bright orb of light. they flitter around the room, unbothered by the new appearance with an almost uneasy quietness, and he allows himself to shortly marvel at the games of shadow and light that change the room every few seconds. 

nothing outside exactly labels the room as some kind of service facility, but seeing all these various items couldn't help but confirm his thoughts of it being the new magic shop - not that he had any doubts before, seeing as it was the only new building in the street. he passes dusty scrolls, empty skulls and omniously gleeming orbs, his dark eyes only skipping over the variety of items, each occupying different amounts of space. the red haired man carefully steps over a sizeable, black root sprouting from one of the rather bland looking, brown pots on the mahagoni floor. it recoils despite the lack of physical contact, completely disappearing in black, muddy water.

faintly amused he thinks about luring it out again just for the thought of it, but quickly scolds himself at such unecessary, time wasting thoughts with no purpose or benefit.

he came here for one reason, and every observations made during this time are of minor importance. he spots what he assumes to be some sort of counter nestled in the corner far in the back after passing more rows of dubious items, the birds making it cast long shadows on the floor.

it's devoid of any trinkets or artifacts, the old cash register the only thing kept clean despite its visible age. the man briefly looks around, knows the owner is somewhere here despite his lack of visible appearance.

he blinks once, and a man timidly smiles at him. "welcome to my humble, little shop. how may i help you?"

the other doesn't respond, letting his eyes take in the man front of him, particulary lingering on the silver tattoos and markings on the others right side of his face. a few more seconds go by, but the other neither moves nor speaks, large, but closed off eyes unwavering as they don't look away from the intense stare with the quest to unravel from the intruder of the shop. his eyes are are a grand colour, he notes. he prefers the darker, more husky colours of low fires, but still finds that the sky blue colour suited the man who sports the same, bright colour on top of his head.

"it depends," he rumbles somewhere out of the tightness of his chest, "what do you have to offer?"

the blue haired man's eyes crinkle, knowing in a way that makes him feel like he himself doesn't.

"shifter?"

the red haired man nods.

"what kind?" 

his response is a smile that's more challenge than politeness, but the owner of the shop just eyes him up in mute silence, not bothering to hide the way he observes his features. 

"werewolf?"

he bares his teeth again, this time as a warning, core heating up.

"ah, no werewolf then. sorry, you do look like you'd make an excellent specimen of those dogs, physical wise of course."

kai comes into his mind, with a face that was more suited for a kid and a personality more fit for a fae, but he doesn't retort, knows that the other is aware of his banal choice of words.

it's not meant to test him; hell, it would be more likely if it was the other way around. he also doubts he wants to rile him up, and although he admits he sometimes _does_ get a bit hot headed despite centuries of practised patience, it's not something he easily gives into. still. despite the clear power the blue haired man hides, he finds nothing of it on the surface, the only indicator his tattoos and the barely concealed power inside the delicacy of this man. and, of course, the quickness of his tongue.

it irks him, used to see people blatantly making no effort to hide any magic they might wield. it doesn't go as deep as a survival instinct, but creatures who wield magic learn the importance of appearing strong, of letting other people now their capabilities and abilities. he might be a hypocrite himself - containing most of his power inside, but the consequences of letting roam an almost inexhaustible amount of energy would be dire, something he let only happen twice.

he stares the other down, taking note of white, loose clothing he was draped in, accentuating the thinness of his wrists and the sharpness of his collarbones. delicate and fragile come to his mind, but he knows better than to judge people by their appearance.

"regardless of what and who you are, i think i may have something for you."

raising an eyebrow he wants to decline and say that there couldn't possibly be anything he'd want to obtain, but chooses not to comment on it, curious as to what the other has in mind. the blue haired man steps out of the counter past the red head, giving him an bemused look. for a short moment he dreams of black skies and blue nights, but then the man disappears behind rows and rows of lost and forgotten things, and he follows.

he holds a book in his hands, blank cover sporting impressive layers of dust. the beast inside him rumbles contentedly upon discovering the blue haired man was smaller than him by a head, but he knows to quickly direct his attention to the even emptier pages of the book. the smaller man dares to smirks up at him, eyes twinkling mysteriously like the dark, unblemished skies, their only source of light being planet alligments and star constellations.

for a short instance he feels the power in the other's gaze deep inside his bones, unspoken depths tearing at his core, but it's gone as soon as it appeared, leaving behind nothing more than a colourless impression the red haired man has difficulty to grasp. 

"a story that has yet to be written," he breathes in the softest of voices, fingers almost longingly petting the surface before holding it up, and the shifter accepts the book being held his way with more care than he'd admit.

he would like to call the whole situation ridicioulus, him being given a blank book, but he knows the implications are heavy. he knows the other knows that he won't ever write anything inside the desert of these pages, but can't think of how this should benefit him in any way. maybe it's not supposed to benefit him, he thinks, eyes darkening as he thinks back to dark rooms and cold steel, but the the only magic he feels is his own, the man's and from other items in this room, but not from this piece of empty literature. the book has no value as a vessel for spells, its purpose long forgotten until he came along.

for the first time in what must have been years, he feels a little lost - and he absolutely loathes the feeling, the unfamiliar uncertainity that would accompany his following actions. he is not used to it, wears confiedence and silent strength with pride, so it unnervs him, such a simple looking gesture from an even less insignificant shop - but he knows the other is not the average magic user, and with how prettily he stares up at him, the red haired man is almost tempted to give in and ask, but he doesn't, holds his words before they can betray his tongue.

he tucks the book in the insides of his vest, hidden from prying eyes, and nods in a way that barely manages to moves his bloody strands.

"what do you want for this?" he finds himself saying, voice a bit off.

"please,", the owner laughs, waving him off. "see it as a free sample, a first offering of trade. just promise me you'll come again," the pretty man says, and he promises, although both know he would come again sooner or later, with or without the words. he doesn't like recieving something without doing something in return, but seeing as the books worth concists of an unknown future with unknown outoames, he says nothing.

the smaller man walks him back to the door, smiling almost shyly at him, which was all it takes for the red haired man to fully turn around a last time.

"please tell me your name."

silver markings flash, and he hears the coral birds chirping loudly for the first time, high and in unpredictable intervalls.

"it's taeyong. see you soon, sir."

"chanyeol," he says before stepping outside, a faint piano beginning to play in the back of the shop, somewhere far out of his reach as he breathes in the air of the dark night.

he takes off to the sky after hearing the door close, aurelion sol's creations starring a mocking blue this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters will have chronological orders and are not random drabbles. they're connected and future chapters will built up on earlier ones. 
> 
> kudos and comments are appreciated, thank you for reading!


	2. no 2: cosmogony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> watching the smile morph into a smirk, chittaphon discovers he would be able to connect with chenle on a spiritual basis way better than he originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta'd yet again, the next chapter comes in. it's a different style from the first one i think, and i hope my writing for paradisus paradoxum will settle soon into a final version. on the contrary, i like changing styles depending on which characters i write. well, we'll see ;-; 
> 
> also, the chapter names are a combination of final fantasy soundtracks (so far only xv) i deem appropiate for each character and how jonghyun names his b-sides from story op.1 - yh, idk lol. Inspiration, i guess.

the first time chittaphon hears about the shop, he ignores it.

it's not that he _doesn't_ like going through things, taking his time to find something of worth between so many options. he could defenitely spend hours in a decently sized shop, flittering through the sortiment to find all kind of things from interesting to sparkly. that's the _only_ thing he really has patience for, really.

it's more like they already have a magic shop in aeterna, bordering on the size of those large super markets he often sees when he roams earth, and it keeps him busy enough if he chooses to go there. he only knows the term for those because of mark who likes to roam the mortal grounds often enough to be familiar with them - not even taking in account that he used to be a normal human, too.

chittaphon usually makes up new terms for things he is vastly unfamiliar with, combinations of words that make no sense to any other than him, finding them much, much better than how humans label them: unecessarily complicated and long. now that he thinks about it, _cold-white-hot-brown-sometimes-black _is actually a bit longer than toaster_, _but what in the realm's name is a _toaster_ supposed to be.

in conclusion, chittaphon doesn't need another shop tempting him to take up so much of his precious time – although he likes it when they do, he can‘t help but always feel like he didn't do anything particulary useful, the bags full in contrast to the hollow feeling inside his chest. it's in his nature to want many, pretty, useless things and collecting them, but it's not like chittaphon himself as a rational being outside of his instincts can't see what exactly he's doing - spending so much time (and crystals) on useless things that entertain him for no more than five minutes, then forever rotting wherever he choses to dispose of them.

so when he parts creatures and magic wielders during a busy morning alike, he doesn't spare the shop a second glance, only taking note of its baby blue, outer walls - something which fills him with a distinct sense of approvement -, only to duck under enormous, raven wings heading his way, threatening to sweep him off his feat. chittaphon directs a mean, nasty glare towards the tengu who hastily retreats upon seeing angry tails lashing out. he holds back a snort and continues his way, ears pulled back and shop a distant memory in the back of his brain.

* * *

"i heard he's pretty," mark says, leaning over a steaming cauldron of what he likes to think is hot water. his tongue pokes out in concentration as he reads instructions on worn pages written in different languages chittaphon can't recognize, eyebrows crunched up in a cute way. the kitsune supresses the urges to squeal and boop that cute nose of his.

he rolls his eyes instead, strolling around the little apartment which mark likes to describe as an organized chaos - potions , stacks of worn pergaments and bottles of varying content all over the floor.

"well, many people are pretty, it's not like it's anything special," he reminds him.

mark and chittaphon are pretty too, but they don’t fall into the same, bland category ‘pretty’ usually covers.

  
  
the hot water turns an eery, green shade as mark throws in what looks like grey sand, leaving the parts of his hand that came in contact with it a dusty, gray shade. "you don't understand," the younger says, allowing his eyes to briefly flicker to the older, before searching his messy desk. he shoves aside used quills and papers for several seconds before grabbing suspicious looking, dark roots. chittaphon really wants to know how mark manages to keep his ingridients and spells all over the place with little to no care whatsoever. 

  
  
"i heard from chenle," mark mumbles as a thoughtful look passes over his face.

chenle was actually the reason of his visit - mark told him he'd practically adopted a newly turned witch, and seeing as chittaphon cares a great deal for mark (not that he'd ever admit it,), it was only right for him to come by and see this kid with his own eyes. various people already tried taking advantage of the youngers good hearted nature, but mark reassured him that chenle wasn't like that. the kitsune could only hope that mark isn't wrong again.

"speaking of chenle, where did you hide that kid? don't tell me you lost him under all that mess in here."

chittaphon ignores the offended look mark sends him in favor of watching the liquid inside the cauldron slowly turning an unsettling shade of blue. 

"i'm not _that_ messy," mark mumbles, his focus back on whatever he's trying to make. the kitsune resists the urge to tell him otherwise. "he's in my spare room - his room, now - upstairs. not sure if he'll be much of use for you, though."

"wait, why?"

"he's absolutely smitten. all he ever talks about is taeyongie this, taeyongie that."

chittaphon raises an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name. mark, sensing his confusion, gives him a look.

"the owner of the new magic shop. _the _pretty one. can you imagine? i sent chenle there barely a month ago, and he still hasn't, uh..._ recovered._ i forbid him from going there for a while," mark says, clicking his tongue. "because i get that feeling that if i let chenle at him again, he's going to _propose_ to him the second he meets him again."

his original purpose had been chenle, but now he can't help but feel intrigued by that taeyong. young magic wielders were easily overwhelmed and could get excited for the most mundane things, seeing as everything was new, but that fascination, that sort of attachment usually doesn't hold longer than a few days. weeks are unusual, almost a month is absurd.

"do we know what he is?" chittaphon asks, absentmindedly playing with his earrings.

"hardly, we only have suspicions. witch, maybe, anjana, or a sylph. some even claim he's a nymph, and with all this gossip, it's hard to grasp anything solid. chenle didn't regocnize him as well, only spoke of tattoos and markings."

  
chittaphon almost finds himself a bit disappointed by that, but he does store the information of markings for later, though. maybe he'd look into that. the lack of solid evidence for a race is odd, but not uncommon, seeing as not every race is as differentiable as some others.

  
"i've wanted to visit too, but hardly found the time. there's been an uprise of mad demons lately, and i've got all my hands full."

the kitsunde warily eyes the now bubbling cauldron, simmering an unknown tune. "you know, i just might check it out myself. i'll just leave you to your witch stuff and visit chenle some other time."

  
"for the last time, I'm _not_ a fucking witch."

  
"warlock, then, if the change in gender makes you more comfortable."

  
"cittaphon, get the fuck out or i'll throw you into the pot as well."  
  
"doesn't change the fact that there are male witches, though!"

  
he cackles, high spirited and mischevious, gracefully ducking under two, rune embedded daggers that narrowly fly past his head, and leaves mark to curse the nimble kitsune in various languages under his breath.

* * *

the second time the shop comes into his field of vision, he doesn't hesistate to step inside.

chittaphon vaguely eyes all the different items that fill the whole place out. the more primal part of him is tingling with the need to take and collect, and while most of the items aside from the few, magicless vessels lying on the ground behind various dream catchers, its obvious the place favors intent and worth over outer appearance. shiny things tend to attract him first, but the interesting things were the ones he favors over glitter and sparkles.

inspecting them, taking them apart until he knew of their worth is what really keeps him going to buy all these things - although figured out items were always disposed after he learned all of the secrets they had to share.

his orange eyes skip over the display, supressing his urges to search for something that could resemble taeyong instead.

he hastily skids past skinned fur and leather, only to trip over something and fall face down on the floor. he scrambles himself up as gracefully as he still can, dusting off his clothes, before giving the weird, black plant - the culprit - a death glare. it only lashes out at him, in a way some would consider playful. chittaphon briefly considers ending the measly plant's existance, but his ears perk up as he hears steps. he didn't see customer this far, so he hopes it's taeyong making an appearance.

"i'm sorry for him," comes a muffled voice before blue hair and eyes appear, kneeling to pet the goddamn plant which, to make it worse, seems to enjoy the long, elegant fingers caressing it's black surface. chittaphon feels a pang of jealousy, ears slightly twitching on top of his head at the lack of same treatment, but he shakes it off. he's above those lowly… racial instincts. and he won't allow himself to feel jealous of a fucking_ plant_.

the man stops his petting, the black something recoiling into its pot before disppearing completely. he straightens himself to properly look at the kitsune and, well, _damn_.

pretty didn't do the man any fucking justice, and he gulps harshly as pink lips send him a shy smile that could melt chocolate. it painfully pulls at his weak heartstrings, and chittaphon has to concentrate to not just jump at the other and rub his cheek against the other's.

watching the smile morph into a smirk, chittaphon discovers he would be able to connect with chenle on a spiritual basis way better than he originally thought.

  
he swallows another lump forming in his throat, and hopes his smile doesn't shake as he offers his hand.

"it's nice to finally meet you," he says and wills his three tails to stop swishing so goddamn excitedly behind him. "heard good things about you and wanted to check it out." 

"me or my shop?"

chittaphon defenitely didn't spit out his non existent tea in his mouth when he hears that, and his brain goes into overdrive to work on a proper explanation, possible sentences and answers racing through his head. luckily, the other only starts laughing, shaking his head. "i'm only joking. it's a pleasure to meet you."

he softly accepts chittaphon's outstretched hand, and briefly the kitsune sees images of ruins, dark halls and entire worlds encased in ice before he's back in taeyong's shop again, skin burning where taeyong had touched him. the shop owner doesn't comment on his now motionless tails, only continues to speak as if he doesn't notice chittaphons visible turmoil. "i feel honored people already think so despite the little time i've been here."

chittaphon forces his body to relax, silver tails moving again, albeit a bit more hesistant. he then notices the contrast between their heights. the difference isn't too big, but enough for people to notice he's smaller than taeyong, and such things _always_ set a slight damper to his ego, no matter how many times he already proclaimed to everybody that he had come to terms with his height. the birds swooshing over him brieftly has him distracted, and he curses his more animalistic instincts for wanting to chase after a particular ray of light.

"well then," taeyong continues to talk, "what are you looking for?"

  
chittaphon shrugs. "you tell me. right now, i don't think i have nothing in mind that i actually want or need." 

taeyong brushes some strands out of his face before locking eyes with the slightly smaller again. "everybody always needs something. for some it's just more obvious and apparent than others."

cittaphon can't disagree, and watches as taeyongs eyes get a far away look, probably thinking of something cittaphon would find even remotely useful or worth buying. "i don't think most of the stuff i have to offer will truly satisfy you, seeing as you're a kitsune."

chittaphon smirks at him, tilting his head playfully in a way that have his long earrings clinking, and observes taeyong with barely narrowed eyes. "well, i love collecting all kinds of pretty, little things. can't ever get enough of them"

the other doesn't move or react, but kneels down after some seconds of silence, reaching for what he recognizes as the pot of that stupid plant. close up, it isn't too large, maybe about the size of a bowl. the swirling darkness does little to ease his nerves whenever he looks at the light consuming liquid, and he swears he briefly sees a horryfing face grinning back at him when the birds above him change position again.

"how about you take care of my little friend here?"

cittaphon wants to slap the goddamn plant away, but swallows. he already started on ill terms with that pot, and now taeyong wants him to buy the same being that made him trip in unsightly ways? sure, he could have paid a bit more attention to his surroundings, but there is just so much to look at, his nature easily getting distracted. also, how could he know that taeyong liked to have plants in his shop that got a kick out of tripping customers?

sensing his hesistation, taeyong pats his shoulder reassuringly.

"i assure you he means no harm. he's already taken a liking to you, and although he was good company, i think he'd be better suited with yours."

the orange eyed man wants to question just how that thing was supposed to be good company, and and that it has serious issues expressing their supposed fondness like that, but doesn't bring it over himself to outwardly critique the descion of the blue haired man, not when those sparkling eyes look at him with somthing akin to hope. maybe his bottom lip also starts jutting out, not that chittaphon will ever admit he paid attention to the other man's lips.

fuck it, he thinks. backing out of this would mean he wouldn't accept this, this… _challenge, _meaning this pathetic life form would win. chittaphon doesn't know what this challenge even is about, but he's determined to not disappoint taeyong and to not loose against a plant.

he takes the pot out of the others hands, almost dropping it in the process - it was suprisingly heavy for such a small object, even with his enhanced strength. it reminds him he has yet to ask what exactly taeyong is, being able to lift such an object with ease. it already cancels out a few options - not every magic wielder hat enhanced strenght. on the other hand, the kitsune doesn't want to be too rude - while it isn't uncommon to ask for someone's race upon meeting them, a lot of people still don't like disclosing such information. 

the shop owner happily claps his hand a few times, taking chittaphons actions and silence as mute acceptance.

  
"you can keep him for free - i tend to give most people something for their first visit, but only under the condition to come back."

taeyong winks at him, as he raises his eyebrows.

"you sure?"

taeyong waves him off, already disappearing behind the various aisles. chittaphon takes it as his cue to leave, shrugging his shoulders. he won't say no to a free gift, even if it is a questionable one.

  
"thank you, taeyong."

he prouds himself over not stuttering, moving carefully as to not spill the strange liquid anywhere. 

"It's a leshen, by the way," comes a muffled voice from inside the shop; "take good care of him, _ten_."

the drop in tone and the the almost sinister way chittaphon's other name roll over his tongue have him almost tripping again, and it's only then he realises neither of them actually introduced themselves, and he wonders just how taeyong knows.

the door shuts, cittaphon left on the street with a pot full of evil. it dawns on him that he _still_ forgot to approach taeyong about his race, and while the visit gave him some overall impressio and insight already, it wasn't too much. looking down he feels dissatisfied at leaving with more questions than answers. he'd have to come back some more times.

a black tendril suddenly lashes out at him and slaps his cheek rather harshly, recoiling as fast as it came out. cittaphon growls and uses all the patience he acquired over his three centuries of living to not drop taeyong's little gift right then and there, eradicating its feeble existence from the entire three realms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ten deserves the world, and unlike yeollie we know what he is. 
> 
> stay tuned, kudos and comments are appreciated, even if it's only a short sentence :)


	3. no 3: melancholia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yunho, he decides, could wait in the face of someone with so much potential.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is self indulging and i needed distraction. not beta read and posted in huge agony while thinking of the cancelled novus festival where i could have seen super junior, nct dream and cix, so sorry for any mistakes.

the market is bustling with life. shouts over shouts are thrown over the place, getting louder with each word and dripping with the intent to reel in and sell. targeted audience strolls leisurely or hurried across the large, sandy place, stands of all kinds scattered evenly over the area.

elbows and all apandents one could have are used to gain an advantage in the crowd, and although rude looks and mumbled words are shared when a magic wielder takes particular offense to someone’s advances, there is never a serious fight to solve, the fleeting moment of anger replaced by things deemed more important and less time wasting.

looks are thrown his way whenever he walks, their eyes casted away the same time they laid eyes on him. if changmin were to compare them to something, he supposes they‘d make excellent ants. tiny creatures, easy to crush under his feet, of such little significance to him he could barely care less, but at the same time important for the community, and while selfish and cruel as individuals, they work and destroy best as a team, blowing life not only into aeterna, but 

aeterna would make a rather dull, boring landscape if it were to miss them changmin thinks, unfazed as a fae nearly tumbles into a stand full of bend spoons to make way for changmin. he parts crowds like ships do with still water, a perfect circle void of any living creature around him. that's one of the few parts that make this whole ordeal a tad bit more bearable, but the act of dragging himself through the crowded morning market itself does make it a rather taxing task.

yunho‘s stupidly, confident grin invades his thoughts, and he hides his light growl, wondering why he still complies to the wishes of the older.

he‘s currently headed to one of the two coffee shops they have in aeterna - making coffee is, as yunho explicitly likes to describe, such a difficult task with tons of different approaches and various techniques combined with strange looking devices that only few magical creatures manage to master the art over the strange liquid. his favorite place (changmin petulantly wonders how hard the choice had been considering the limited amount of options) just happens to be located on the other side of this dreaded place. he absentmindedly lifts his garments as to not taint them with the countless, mashed pomengrates on the floor, ignoring the merchant who stammers countless apologies, eyes full of dreadful anticipation, but changmin just sends him off with a slight wave of his hand.

the two, celestial bodies above him shine bright and unforgiving, no clouds in sight. he feels them tugging at his powers, the air dry and unpleasently hot, but they replenish faster than any amount of rays could ever hope to consume, making it a progress changmin is consciously aware of, but could afford to ignore since it hardly makes any difference in his power output.

  
it adds to the constant hum of the many, many different magic powers around him, a constant battle of rather friendly competition since there is no ill intent in the air. average magic users might feel overwhelmed with the sheer amout of power bottled into such a relatively little space, also consdering the fact there are so many different kinds of energies mixing, and more often than not he spots pained or too concentrated looks on individuals, their movement time saving and rapid instead of calculated and moderate. to changmin it‘s barely a drop in the ocean of the sheer potencial he has at his fingertips. or claws.

  
sighing in relief when the crowd around him slowly begins to thin out, his instinct tingles.

just in time he feels a violent, large presence flaring up with raw, pure energy, and in the next second someone too fast to catch with normal eyes flies past him, crashing into the wall to his left. dust flies up the instance it comes into contact with it and then it's out of his vision, but he hears the same, crashing sound two more times before there‘s a dull, distant thudd.

he's suprised the building overall is still holding, but a quick check on the magic protecting its walls show that its previous reserves are exhausted to the brink of nothingness, having absorbed most of the force behind the impact.

the whirled up sand and dust vanish with a simple swipe of his right hand. the sandstone wall (if you could still call it one) sports a rather impressive hole, and changmin knows more walls outside of his vision are also destroyed, leaving him to wonder just how much of the interior of the building is still intact.

not that he particulary cares enough to know what shops or services reside in the tall, sandy architecture enclosing the heart of the market place, but he wouldn‘t rule out the possibility of more casualities over such raw power.

low whispers start to overtake the previous quietness, quickly raising to a loud chatter. countless eyes of customers and merchant alike focused on the commotion and changmin himself, curious on how someone of his authority would react. he‘s perfectly still, though, waiting for the culprit to show.

he doesn't have to wait long.

the gathered crowd to his right parts to reveal a man walking through. he spots a daring shade of stark, blue hair, silver tattoos and various accesoires adorning his unusually pale skin in the midst of tanned bodies.

he‘s a fragile, little thing he notes, but changmin is more interested in his magic that practically vibrates in the most lightest colour he has seen yet when he reaches out for it himself, almost as if it barely contained itself from expanding and consuming, unleashing a terror changmin can‘t help but wanting to witness.

the culprit ignores the glances sent his way and disappears into the hole. changmin‘s finger twitches at the urge to follow him, but he holds his place. after the first minute passes, people start to move again, quickly loosing interest and going back to their previous tasks. several more pass until everyone is acting like nothing happened, changmin the only one left waiting, knowing the other would return if given enough time.

true to his thoughts the man emerges after what must have been ten minutes, gracefully stepping over loose remaints of the wall. the blue haired main looks around, briefly locking eyes with changmin who meets his stare with a reserved one of his own.

something akin to recognition and a slight hint of furtivity ignites in his eyes, casting him a knowing glance. in less than a second changmin feels oceans consuming him, subdueing him before he internally roars, powers bursting and overflowing in a massive nova, literally turning the tides and bending the waves to _his_ will.

the stranger shudders and is quick to disappear within the next heartbeats, but now changmin knows where to find him.

yunho, he decides, could wait in the face of someone with so much _potential_. changmin briefly thinks of lowering himself to the level of contacting him to notificate him of his _inevitable_ absence, but the short pang of possessiveness over a newfound object of interest to him has the younger preventing him from doing so. 

he‘s mildly suprised. changmin never lingers in the markets of aeterna, and while they could surely be beneficial and expand to item offers that usually never find themselve in any corners of a market, he never found something of interest in the past when he bothered to approach and inspect the stands. most would have probably given him everything for free, given by their shaking limbs, eyes full of raw terror, and changmin would lie if he says he didn‘t enjoy himself then. 

the stand the stranger inhabits is gentle. changmin can't really think of another word to describe it. soft, wooden edges in their natural colour, enough items on display to offer a decent amount of variety, but not too much to make it overbearring. unlike the lavish, flashy stands merchants usually like to present themselve with, this was something the generic folk looks past at the first glance and brush off at the second. but changmin is attentive, and anything else than normal.

the items the blue haired offers are different in a way that grabs changmin curiosity and claws it open into something deeper. they posses origin, unspoken stories in the way they don‘t shine and grab immediate attention, purpose hidden away from hungry eyes, left for those who seek and discover.

two of his claws stroke carefully, almost lovingly over the surface of what resembles a snow globe, the insides a shining, pulsing light that immediately changes to a staid, incisive violet with streaks of black, intensifying the longer changmin holds the contact. as soon as he let's it go it purrifies itself into the dull, white light from earlier, and his inner creature titters.

changmin lets out a breath he doesn‘t know he had been holding as he straightens himself, feeling a sudden loss of magic, an unfamiliar, strange feeling to him. he resists the sharp grin threatening to take over his face, and watches in fascination at the ancient looking tomes on a quiant, little table.

"most people don‘t care for history anymore,“ he begins to speak, voice low and almost inaudible in midst of loud market noises as he gives into the urge to grab one. changmin flips through the sides, revelling in the way his magic sings when his eyes skip over long forgotten languages, taking in their context with rapid speed. "especially for one so old as these.“

"most people aren‘t me.“

good hearing, then.

there‘s a little smile tugging at the corners of the other man‘s face as he watches changmin's almost childlike fascination. he puts it back, thoughts contently swimming through skys full of blood and ground when there still was none as he skimms through more of his things.

"most people aren‘t me either;“ changmin speaks, voice thick with reasons he doesn't care to unravel at the moment.

the smaller laughs.

"never thought the day would come someone of your kind would grace me with their presence;“ he responds, not bothering to hide the fear and respect behind his smiles.

changmin comes to a section of fragile looking, but strong papers as he takes in characters he‘s only seen specific families using.

"never thought the day would come i'd see someone being profiecent in the art of fuinjutsu outside of their bloodline. do correct me if i'm wrong."

the blue haired man's smile turns into a bashful grin, albeit with hesistance as the older takes another scroll out, carefully reading over the art. he likes the power he seems to be holding over the man, changmin notes, and if he were to pretend reading the scroll for longer than necessary just to see the smaller squirm, no one would be there to tell.

his fascination is genuine, though.

"tell me, just where did you learn all this?"

"i have connections with the nakamoto clan," the other admits. "they're nicer than some would think they are, and the mother of their heir likes me enough to think of me as family, thus gracing me with such knowledge."

he laughs again, short and beautiful.

"i‘ve never seen myself as anything more than a good friend, but they seem to think otherwise.“

the nakamoto are ancient beings, producing kitsunes more than he could care counting over the last decades, and he wonders just what his connections really entail. it's true that they're known to be one of the few specialising in fuinjutsu, but changmin never thought he'd see something such high, such exquisite art in a simple, generic morning market. it was _unworthy_ of such treasures.

changmin pointedly looks at him.

"this is the work of someone who's been trained to do this since birth," he purrs, fingers caressing the beautifully, written kanji on the outside of a smaller, black scroll. "surely you must have spent more than enough time to be seen as an extension to the family, loyal and rightful enough to earn the secrets of their kind.“

the merchant blinks several times before a light, rose hue taints his cheeks, a colour which changmin finds suits him rather flattering. he taps twice on the makeshift counter, claws glistening. he doesn't need to think when he utters his next words.

"i'll take everythng you have."

the new object of his interest looks upin disbelief, almost as if he thinks changmin would be joking.

growing impatient, he removes his hand from the counter and burries it in the folds of his hanbok. "you heard me right. now hurry up. you have a paying customer now, and i do feel rather generous today."

the only thing changmin is actually lying about is the fact that he‘d make his entire day free for the other, but figures it would look a bit too suspicious, feel a bit too prematurely, and he doesn‘t want yunho to come and look for him if he delays him for too long, possibly discovering the little gem he just found, and the last thing he wants to do is _share._

he‘s still unable to neither put a name nor race to the blue haired man‘s face which is unusual given his age, but it doesn‘t matter too much at the moment. his magic already familiarized itself with the smaller one‘s, so he could easily find him outside of the market hours whenever he pleased, and if changmin has something, it's complete and practiced patience.

the merchant is currently busying himself to hastily do as changmin told him, and if he were to add and say he had to be in an important meeting in less than two minutes, he defenitely did not do it to enjoy the look of flushed, red panic overtaking the other‘s face.


	4. no 4: noctis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> closing his hand arond the flask and sending taeyong a wobbly smile, mark got the distinctive feeling that seulgi would be seeing him a lot less from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is looong overdue, and i can't apologize enough! thank your for the persons who commented on the last chapter - espcially the most recent one. i pushed this baby out and while i'm still not satisfied, i'm kind of getting the itch back to write again. since my semester is over, i'll have a bit more room to breath and hopefully publish more chapters, as well as the longass one-shot i've been working and plotting on. that one will still take a lot of time, but will probably go into similar, but much deeper directions.

"sorry hun. if you‘d have come a few minutes earlier, you would have gotten the last pieces of a mermaid‘s velar. you really have a bad timing - we‘re out of stock regarding anything mermaid related.“

mark doesn't think seulgi feels particulary sorry, not with the way she continues filing her long, pink claws, not sparing him more than a glance. he sighs. there is only one customer in sight, a large lizardwoman, and she is still inspecting the section for fur charms as if she could actually use them on herself. maybe a pet, then.

„well, how long until a re-stock?“

she shruggs her delicate shoulders.

„they‘re not unpopular and are harder to get since we lack any large lakes near us. maybe come back in a month?“

the warlock furrows his eyebrows, a sense of dread creeping into him when he hears the estimated time.

„i‘m supposed to get rid of the banshee in vildir in less than a week, seulgi. how do you expect me to do that?“

this time, she actually looks up from the task keeping her hands occupied. „if it‘s for you, i can manage in two weeks, but that‘s the limit of how strong i can press my connections.“ this time, she holds somewhat genuine concern in her eyes.

he only shakes his head in response. sometimes he wishes he isn‘t the only potent warlock in a radius of what has to be at least sereval kilometers. in his peripheral vision he can see the lizardowman approaching, arms full of what has to be every variant of the charm she was inspecting earlier. he rubs his eyes tiredly, stepping aside to make room for a paying customer in front of the counter.

„it‘s alright, i‘ll manage. guess i‘ll have to work around the equation this time.“

he‘d have to either find a suitable replacement that wouldn‘t ruin the counter curse or adjust the other ingredients in a way that he wouldn‘t need a mermaid's velar. seeing as the latter is way more complex than the former, he thinks about the possibility of siren or nymphs filling the space, but seulgi suddenly brightens up, her nail file being stuffed into the various, already overspilling pockets of her trousers.

„wait. oh, i _know_ where you can try.“

the woman looks at him with such mirth and glee that he can‘t help but swallow back his saliva, already knowing this won‘t turn out to be a good idea.

* * *

of course it has to be the mysterious magic shop that got chenle traumatized. if he is being honest, he‘d rather go into kyungsoo‘s _dark obsecurities_ – his chances of getting the single ingredient missing there is actually not even that bad, but there is a reason he prefers stepping into the light, pastel magic shop of seulgi rather than the dark, smokey and utterly cramped space kyungsoo decided to shut himself in.

he had been there once, and he swore to himself it was his first as well as his last time, not only because the shop managed (and still manages) to emitt an utterly creepy aura that the tiny space made even worse, but also because kyungsoo was an engima he doesn't want to solve – the man changed his personality with him more times than mark can physically count, and that one encounter he had, desperately looking for a nekker‘s tongue that no sane man except one would sell, was enough to scar him for the rest of his life.

he guesses there is a good reason he never sees kyungsoo in any of the bigger festivities aeterna is known for.

now that he thinks about it, he‘d probably rather give the new shop a try than going back to what he likes to call his ultimate last resort. it doesn‘t mean he really _wants_ to visit taeyong's shop – not with his impression from hearing chenle, despite the latter only praising said main with an eloquence mark hadn't thought possible – it‘s just, the other option is way less tantalizing.

as soft piano music of unknown origin greets him when he pushes the door open. the warlock thinks he can also use that oppurtunity to have a word with the new shopkeeper - he knows he shouldn‘t prejudge people so fast, but really, what in the realm's name did he do to make chenle still sing about taeyong‘s smile under the shower after two months?

well, he isn't a siren, that‘s for sure. if that were the case, he would have been able to detect a curse within chenle‘s upper body, either coating his ears or his eyes from the inside. it was the first thing he tried checking after days of nonstop, lovesick monologues, and even tough he does occasionally manages to hold a dialogue sane enough that a few, important things could be discussed, chenle always switches back to his new, overflowing personality after some time. it hinders him with his training, and that is something that already got postponed long enough.

yeah, mark made up his mind. he‘ll have a serious chatter with that taeyong.

while searching, he can‘t help but skip through the sheer masses of items the shop openly displays. it's a small space, not as small as kyungsoo‘s and nearly not as cramped, but defenitely not as big as seulgi‘s. natural tones and dim lighting dominates the interior, managing to create a somewhat cozy, wistful atmosphere. subtly inhaling, he can even confirm that the air smells rather nice. a bit sweet. a mixture of herbs and tea; probably some sort of charm given by how those don't make up the majority of the items.

he doesn't see any sign of the shopkeeper yet, so he continues roaming, curiosity taking over his pride of not wanting to get to invested into everything.

the shelves and desks are overflown with all kinds of objects, and mark got the dinstinct feeling that he could find anything in this shop if he just searches long enough for it. it's vastly different than the neatly, carefully displayed rows of herbs and ingredients of seulgi's shop – here, everything is sort of all over the place.

it doesn‘t necessarily give of a messy feeling, merely a catalyst for the customer to actively try looking for what he came for, and maybe even discovering something beyond it without actually wanting to find it – in a sense, he guesses it's an invitation for serendipity.

„can i help you with something?“

mark shrieks, letting go of the succubi horns he is holding and flailing his arms as he tries to redirect his inevitable fall not towards the rows of immeasurable objects, but rather the floor. closing his eyes, he is prepared for the worst, but when something slithers under his waist and he never hears the sound of actual crashing, he dares to squint open his left eye. the warlock nearly shrieks again when he sees the stranger's face.

is a man like him even allowed to exist?

before he can form any other, coherent thought, he realizes their position. mark begins to cough out an apology, slowly lifting himself up with the help of the man who, without a doubt, must be taeyong. briefly mourning the loss of warmth when the other retracts his hand, _get your shit together mark_, he realizes the other has the horns he previously had been holding in his hand. great. not only does he seem to be living up exactly to the astronomically high expectations chenle set for him, he also has quick reflexes.

„i‘m sorry, i didn‘t mean to startle you.“

the smile that lits the other man's face make the coral birds floating around them seem dull in comparison, and mark vehemently tries shaking off the incoming blush that threatens to paint his cheeks.

„it‘s quite alright, sorry for making you catch me.“

mark is _proud_ for actually managing to get out a proper sentence that doesn't indicate the mess he is on the inside. 

the other put the succubi horns back into their place – somewhere inbetween dried snake hide and rattling book pages – and clasps his hands together as he takes a step back. „so, what can i do for you? looking for anything in specific?“

_you, actually_. he internally screams. just where did that come from? he is here to investigate the cause of chenle‘s state and to actually get the ingredients he is missing for his comission, not to investigate how shiny the other's lips are and how long his lashes seem to be. _get a grip on yourself, you‘ve already seen plenty of pretty men_.

but none of the plenty of pretty man had silver tattoos artfully lining some parts of his face. neither did they have the combination of sharp, facial features and the softness of huge eyes and fluffy hair in the way the other man sports. mark resists the urge to slap himself as he realizes the extent of his thoughts.

_well._

all he can do now is damage control and try not ending up like chenle.

„i-i‘m looking for a mermaid‘s velar. i never got around to check out the new shop, so i, uh, yeah, thought it would be a nice opportunity.“

now the realms have blessed him with the ability to make himself a fool in speech as well. seeing as the other doesn't respond to the mess that his sentence was, he figures it would probably be a very good time for him to introduce himself.

„oh, i‘m mark by the way.“

he thinks he faintly hears chittaphon clap in the distance.

_i'm proud of you, mark. couldn't have done it any better_.

seeing as this is already a lost case, he promptly decides to hold out his hand as well, sweating as he sees the somewhat perplex visage of the blue haired man. mark can feel himself rivaling a tomato when the other still doesn't move, but then he blinks several times before reaching out and shaking mark‘s hand. there's an awkward, almost shy smile gracing the other's lips.

is he melting from relief of this ridicioulus situation or the softness of the other‘s hand? mark will never know.

„nice to meet you mark. i‘m taeyong, the owner of this humble thing here. i‘m pretty sure i‘ve seen the flask somewhere around here, so if you could wait for a few moments, i‘m sure i can fetch it for you.“

mark enthusiastically nodds, happy that he won't come out with empty hands and a new crush, but at least with the ingredient he actually needs.

taeyong disappears behind various shelves, and mark lets out a breath he doesn‘t know he was holding – being in the blue haired man's presence is suprisingly suffocating, although he can't figure out yet if it comes from the sheer, intense beauty the other emits, or the obsecured powers he is wielding.

warlocks aren't as sensetive to raw magic itself as other magic wielders, but even a human should be able to at least _feel_ the miniscule waves that escape taeyong, even if they wouldn't know what it is. 

„labial or palatals are also completely fine if you don‘t have velars.“

he doesn‘t know if the other heard him, but the muffled hum have him nodding to himself. the warlock is busy studying a rather complex looking, mechanical heart when he feels a tap on his shoulder. this time, he doesn't even jump and only screams half as loud.

this time, taeyong doesn't apologize but actually chuckles, a rumble deep inside his chest. the sound has mark somewhat melting, and he absolutely hates the fact how goey he feels about a person he met just some minutes ago.

„you seem rather easy to frighten. i‘ll make sure to remember it for the next time.“

"s-sorry. some would say i should be used to it with my line of work, but here i am, still getting scared by the simplest things."

taeyong tilts his head <strike>(rather cutely).</strike>

"would you mind telling me what you're doing? i'm still not familiar with everyone's proficiency around here."

the more mark talks, the easier he finds it to open up his rather awkward and clumsy shell. talking about a topic he is rather familiar with also helps.

"then i guess you'll remember me pretty easily," he responds, and tries not to be too giddy about that fact. "i'm the only warlock in this vicinity, so if there is a curse of any sort bothering you, just give me a quick message and i'll come and get things sorted out."

truth is, with the way his time table is packed to its utmost capacity, he defenitely won't find the time for taeyong within at least the next two weeks, but he supposes if the other really would get curse related troubles, he'll gladly sacrifiece his few hours of poor sleep. so much for serious chatter.

"that's interesting - i'll defenitely remember it, thank you."

he feels his cheeks heating up again, and promptly looks down at the presented item.

the flask is tiny and labelled with a neat, handwritten note, blue liquid whispy and bordering on gas like state. if he were to listen closely, he'd probably hear the voice of the mermaid that was used.

he looks back up into the stormy, blue hues of taeyong, and doesn't know wether to look away or to continue meeting his intense gaze.

„how much is it?“

the other smiles, almost bordering on a smirk.

„don't worry. you pay with your next visits. see it as... a welcome gift.“

this is the second time taeyong implies that mark should come again, and who is he to deny a request he had long planned to fullfill anyway?

normally he would shake his head and continue protesting for recieving something for free – especially since a mermaid's velar wasn‘t too common, but he has to admit that his brain does felt rather fried after all the smiles and looks taeyong sent him, so much that it keeps getting harder and harder to properly think and make rational descisions.

what makes it even worse – his thought continue rewinding the earlier physical contact, and that was an _accident_ for realm's sake, but mark still thinks about the lingering warmth at his back, so much that he feels like the highschooler in his previous life all over again.

closing his hand arond the flask and sending taeyong a wobbly smile, mark got the distinctive feeling that seulgi would be seeing him a lot less from now on. it's only to build a resistance against such an inhumanly beautiful creature, mark tells himself. pure self defense and preparations if he stumbles upon a similar situation only with a much more dangerous intent when he works. 

when he exits the shop, the cool evening air manages to cool him down at least a little bit. he feels the seemingly permanent blush finally withdrawing as his poor heart continues racing inside of its prison.

a wyvern roars in the far, far distance, and it reminds mark of his comission and that he still has to brew a counter curse for the banshee in vildir‘s graveyard. slipping the little flask into his pouch, he slowly begins heading back.

he‘d defenitely not tell chenle about this – if he hears even the slightest hint of positivity if mark were to retell his encounter with the shopkeeper, he doesn't think he‘d be able to survive the level that chenle's smugness would rise to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone wondered about stuff like velar, that's actually linguistic stuff about articulating vocals and consonants lmao. i guess i had to cope with that horrible exam in some way. i could explain what i properly mean, but that'd take all the Imagination away :d!
> 
> kudos and comments are appreciated.


	5. no 5: somnus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "i'm taeyong, by the way. in case you were interested."
> 
> kai hadn't been, but definitely is now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reminding me that this story exists!!! I've been writing on another fanfiction similar to this one (which I haven't published yet) like CRAZY and kinda developed a tunnel vision. If anyone is interested in some more, vague details, I'll have them at the notes at the end of the chapters.
> 
> Four months since the last update, nothing can apologize this excepts chapters. Enjoy (for those who are still reading this haha)!
> 
> Like always not beta'd WE DIE LIKE MAN
> 
> edit: thank you lauranguyen1 for helping me sort some mistakes out!! much love and mochis for you <3
> 
> ….please point mistakes or typos out so I can fix them, thank you :')

the late evening whispering of winged creatures and insects alike melt under the pressure the wind is blowing past his tucked back ears, distorting into a faraway melody. the ground beneath him continues to crumble and give away to the strength of his paws, always on the edge of breaking.

the night is calm, two moons twinkling above him, leaning close to each other to share secrets kai will never know of. it's none of his business anyway, will never be, and only when he starts feeling the strain in his trained muscles does he let himself comedown to a slow trot.

he doesn't exactly know where he is, his instincts an unpredictable thing when it comes to directions and just freely letting himself go with nothing but the wind and magic around him. the distant cackling and sounds of the fae bunch that has been following him since his shift tells him he's still inside the borders of aeterna, but the darker, more menacing becoming branches that seem to reach more and more for him indicate he's not far from entering elyision, a land that slowly merges into umbra.

the vegetation around him is unfamiliar, blue and black more prominent than the softer, glowing colours in his territory. the plants curl and grow in ways that has his fur itching uncomfortably, so kai takes that as the signal to stop his nightly run. he turns around to follow his own, slightly muted scent back, head high and proud about his demonstration of speed and stamina under the watchful gaze of the two celestial bodies.

kai stops when he feels the softest flow of magic invading his senses, so he halts. as soon as the new, strange energy came up, the magic signature from the rowdy bunch of fae's that persistently followed him disappeared. 

his hind legs tense as his chest rumbles with a deep growl at a potential threat. soundlessly stepping through some thicker branches and stopping behind a fairly large tree, kai spots a man in the soft moonlight. he is currently in the process of bending down, a basket filled with what seem to be blue flowers. his equally coloured hair appears almost silver in the lighting, and together with his flowy, white clothing, the stranger's appearance borders on something otherworldly.

the magic is more intense up close, but it shows no sign of hostility yet, so he relaxes slightly, but not enough to let his guard down. he knows that even the most harmless looking people can turn out to be the most vicious creatures, so he stays in his spot, observing the other for any other kind of movement aside from picking up flowers and putting them in the basket. 

deciding he could always run if things get too dangerous (although he doesn't really believe it), his curiosity takes over. before kai knows it, he calmly walks out of his hiding spot towards male, this time purposely making his steps loud enough to be heard. he also releases his magic presence he had been hiding, and stops when the currently silver haired male turns with a neutral expression on his face.

it shifts towards one of interest when he sees the tall wolf standing in some distance away from him.

"oh my, what do we have here? i knew there was something hiding out there, but to think it would be you..."

kai's ears twitch. is the other able to sense him despite him supressing his magic? he knows one could never fully conceal all of it, magic was too grand for that, but that would mean the other has almost sensory-like abilities. or just a much better than average awareness. 

the wolf decides to trot a bit closer. he deliberately makes his movement slow, easy for the eye to catch up, tail and ears high to show that he means no harm. he just hopes the other would do the same.

the stranger watches him with wary, but attentive eyes, following each shift and movement kai's larger body made. the blue haired man lets his basket rest on a tree banch to fully direct his attention on the incoming wolf. he tentatively reaches out with one hand when kai was close enough, waiting and looking at the big creature with an impressed looking, but trembling smile.

the other snorts, shakes his wild mane before he presses his snout against the open invitation, knowing no harm would be done. the hand immediately begins to caress the fur around his neck and ears, and his animalistic heart skips with contentment at the physical touch.

"what a fine specimen you are;" the man whispers in awe as he grasps countless of soft, black strands, seemingly engrossed with how they feel against his skin. kai only growls lowly in response, enjoying the other man's surprisingly cold touch. only after a minute does the wolf step back, his pride no longer letting himself be pet. the other only smiles, retreating his hands to pick up his paused task again.

"i'm taeyong, by the way. in case you were interested."

kai hadn't been, but definitely is now. he trots closer and pushes his nose into the basket, nearly knocking it out off taeyong's hands. "easy there," he says, petting his snout once before slinging his arm under the handle of the wooden container. "i came here to collect wolfs bane and morning glory for some potions i've been working on."

is he a herbalist, then? or a witch?

the wolf trails behind taeyong as the other starts walking again (fortunately not into the direction of elysion), occasionally bending down to look under big, old roots or to part high grass and weeds in hopes of finding said plants. "they're hard to come by where aeterna first starts to merge with the woods, only getting more prominent the deeper you wander."

kai feels a strange pang of fear at the thought of this delicate looking man wandering alone in the woods - apparently already several times, and he gives a short, loud bark he hopes conveys the message. 

"don't worry about lil' old me, i've been doing fine until now. i'm glad you worry, though." the smile taeyong offers after that contrasts greatly with the dark colours surrounding him.

in human form, he would blush and deny that he worries about the other - just generally concerned about a stranger's wellbeing - but his wolf form cares a bit less about formalities and gives into his instincts more. right now, they are telling him to protect this fragile looking creature who had been petting him so nicely. looking into taeyong's large, blue eyes that constantly seem to play with the moonlight makes it hard for him to resist the sappy warmth spreading through his limbs.

kai feels the magic power vibrating deeply inside the other, mostly hidden away from prying eyes, and he knows he's probably good at taking care of himself, but the stubborn part of him doesn't want to let him go alone anymore. this time, he smacks his head into the others chest (he could so easily bite and break, _break_, **_break_**), probably smudging some snort on the other's pristine, clean clothes, but kai hardly cares for such mundane things.

"woah there, slow down big boy." taeyong laughs, hands coming up again to scratch him some more. screw his pride, kai thinks as he lets the other's nimble fingers gothrough his fur. let his pride be gone if he can feel those magic hands on his body like this everyday. the light haired male somehow just seemed to know his weak spots, instantly finding them through his thick fur and downright abusing them. it is rare for kai to enjoy precise hands like this, usually hanging around his pack in wolf form and rarely going into aeterna in his human form. maybe it is time to change that.

kai gets pulled out of his thoughts when he senses another spark of magic bursting his warm bubble.

the few bits of taeyong's magic he feels are already somewhat ominous despite the lack of hostile intent, but it is nothing compared to the dark, corruptive presence that quickly seems to close in on them. taeyong senses it as well, halting in his movements to look at the direction where it is coming from.

a low growl escapes kai's throat, growing louder when the shadows around him start to shift. taeyong doesn't move, oddly calm despite the moonlight vanishing in various places around him, and he looks at kai with an unreadable expression on his face when the wolf crouches low in front of him.

usually kai doesn't let other ride him - he only ever let one person ride him in his life, and that was sehun, a pup younger than him, and even then it was only out of fun and games since the other was too little to remember. no werewolf ever lowers himself to such standards, to let themselves be reduced to a mere mean of transportation.

it does not only have to do something with pride, but also with instinct - kai would let himself shift into a vulnerable state open to attacks, and to trust someone up there who would not abuse his position is an endeavor not many wolves ever tried taking. taeyong, he realizes, must knows this as well as the blue haired male leans down to whisper a hoarse thanks into the other's ear, almost lost by the adrenaline already pumping through the wolf's body.

his fingers press deep into kai's fur for a brief moment, expressing sincerity and genuineness words aren't able to convey at the moment. kai can't help but feel like letting taeyong ride him is more of a privilege, and before he thinks too long about it he takes off, strong limbs making the world blur around them with the speed he was chasing through the forest.

as the consuming darkness behind them is slowly left behind them, kai absentmindedly notices how the other fits perfectly on his back. he doesn't try kick his feet into his stomach like kai saw some doing with their horses, and taeyong's grasp around his neck is firm, but light enough that kai feels like it's less a mean to steady and balance himself and more of a... hug. taeyong's body feels colder than he imagined, but it was a welcome sensation to his heated blood.

when kai doesn't feel the ill, threatening magic anymore, he slows down, and taeyong slides off of him with an elegance he can't help but admire. only then the wolf notices the missing basket, and he whimpers, his snout pushing into taeyong's hands.

taeyong giggles, feminine and cute and he kind of wants to pounce at the other and pin him down with his own body, not letting anyone else hear that sound. he shakes his head internally, not knowing where those thoughts come from. kai concentrated on the hands on his fur instead who are petting his wild, untamed mane once more.

"it's no problem," taeyong airily says. "i can just go back into the woods some other day and retrieve it. maybe the cute wolf will help me with that, hmm?" 

kai isn't cute, but if it gives him more ear scratches and potential belly rubs in the future, he definitely doesn't mind being cute for once.

hearing taeyong say that kai suddenly feels flustered, and he concentrates to not look down on his now shuffling paws.

kai blinks once and barks at empty air. confused, he looks around, but quickly notices any trace of the other being here is gone. he remembers the silver marks decorating the others skin, shining beautifully when they caught glimpses of moonlight, and stores that information in his head to ask suho later. kai looks towards aeterna, the city's beginnings and walls only a short sprint remote now. probably why the dark magic was forced to leave them at some point.

the wolf turns around, black form vanishing in the shadows of the trees separating the woods from the bustling life of the outer city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After posting three fanfictions (and deleting one because it was horrible), I swore to myself that I'll never ever publish a fanfiction again I haven't already finished because I drop them so fast. Hence the reason why the story in my draft file is currently sitting at a proud 100k and I haven't even gone into the smut yet lol. 
> 
> If you like genres like this and like seeing people gushing over the same person (duh, I'm super selfish like that cauz my love for Taeyong needs to be expressed in some way. Basically taeyong x everyone zzZZ), the one I got in store for you will be perfect. It's also a fantasy AU and will focus around the Super M members. Without spoiling too much, I'd say that Taeyong starts of his journey alone, and gradually picks up Super M members as the story goes on.
> 
> It sounds super boring lol, but it's so fucking big. Like I mentioned, I'm at 100k words and I didn't even get to introduce the fourth member into the story, and only when all are complete will the plot (and smut!) go nuts. If there are Atinys out there, Ateez is actually playing a pretty big part in the story as well. Bigger than I intended them to be, but oh well. 
> 
> Some Hongjoong and San x Taeyong elements because I cannot control myself and I've recently binge watched what Ateez had to offer aside from music. Parts of this paradisus paradoxum fanfic will find themselves in the one I'm writing as well. Anyway, I gushed too much. If you're still reading this then wow, you're an amazing person, honestly.
> 
> Let me know in the comments what you think <3


	6. no 6: valse di fantastica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the blue haired male is too fleeting for him to touch, soft liquid in his hands that makes it unable for him to properly grasp. so he doesn’t, knows better, opts for watching instead, stealing the little things he could get away with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swore on my belief on a taemin comeback to get the chapter out by sunday, and here we are. guess his comeback will get delayed by a day then WOPS. at least it's only one day.
> 
> beforehand: 
> 
> i want to clarify (little spoiler who this chapter is about? is it a spoiler though if the first word of the chapter is that person's name??":
> 
> leeteuk and taeyong will not get shipped! originally I planned it to be, but that had been in my weird super junior phase and i don't feel nearly as comfortable writing leeteuk’s character since i do not know him so well. he still plays a decently important role though, occasionally making some appearances.
> 
> also, the age gap is a bit weird, but that sort of thing doesn't have any importance in my fic - everyone is aged up, sometimes by a decade, sometimes by centuries. yeah, you get the gist.
> 
> have fun reading! as always, half heartedly betad by myself.

leeteuk sighs for the umpteenth time, every possible letter in existence swimming together in front of his eyes, merging into forms that don‘t make sense anymore.

despite his own, miserable state, the preparations for the incoming skyfall festival are going surprisingly well. he has more requests for acts and performances than he’s able to include, and since aeterna‘s business is flourishing more than ever thanks to the easing of realm travel regulations, leeteuk can‘t quite complain about the lack of money either.

the funds and budgets he’s been able to dish out are generous enough to raise a few skeptical eyebrows over desks used for meetings and conferences, and leeteuk is very well aware he has a habit of spending more than he should, but that did not justify _all_ of the raised eyebrows he got. he isn't _that_ irresponsible.

aeterna is known for its bright festivities, attracting all kinds of creatures from over the country, and since a few months from all over the realms as well. although the purpose and names of the festivals are never changed, every single one is unique in its own term. when coming to aeterna, you never experience the same festival twice. something leeteuk likes to brag about in meetings with other cities - in a subtle way, of course.

the wanderers have already told him they‘d be in the vicinity of aeterna during skyfall, accepting his invitation to set up their own, exotic stands in return for location fees. he still needs to confirm kard‘s attendance as the security during the three days, but he‘s sure the confirmation will come in soon enough – they like to be in the spotlight, proud of their hybrid nature. despite playing a more passive role, leeteuk doesn’t think they’d pass up an opportunity like that, and even then he likes to think that the money itself will clear any hesitance left.

leeteuk also doesn‘t have to worry about the food and drink supply for employees and guests during the festival – he already spoke with jinki and kibum a week ago, both excitedly proclaiming they‘d take care of it. knowing that one, pretty crucial burden was lifted from his shoulders, he had turned to the entertainment focused part of the festival, sending invitations and requests where they were needed.

unfortunately he didn’t anticipate the sheer amount of letters and paperwork he himself received, skyfall attracting more attention than leeteuk originally thought. hence the mountain of white that currently prohibited him from speaking with donghae or siwon properly, having to comically twist his head and body in a way so he could look through the occasional gap in front of him since most of his employees are little shits and don’t move an inch on their own, content to see him suffer.

he should think about cutting their loan a bit. maybe more than a bit.

on the positive side - with the approach of spring, leeteuk has already dealt with most of the acts and organizational aspects of the festival (now he just needs to sent a lot of rejections back, even if that might dull aeterna’s reputation a bit).

that leaves him with about two weeks to figure out his _current_ dilemma.

and as fate wills it, it (of course) consists of the main act.

leeteuk has _most_ of it already sorted out, but he lacks a few key points. the one troubling him the most is related to seventeen’s performance – something a lot of people have already told him is heavily anticipated. the climax of skyfall, just as fate wills it.

getting seventeen on board had been a lot easier than leeteuk thought – usually they are booked out pretty much all times of the year, but promising compensation for their time_ and_ free food probably had played a very important factor in sounding convincing. seems like not many include that in their requests.

but they are, as people like to say,_ high maintenance_ and possess high standards for the stage they would be performing on, and now leeteuk has all of his two hands full with hoshi constantly barging into his office to talk about the performance and finding people competent enough for mid- to high tier illusion magic to meet their demands.

leeteuk sighs, leaning back in his seat as he stretches his tired limbs. the majority of the nakamoto clan that is currently present are already making up most of the illusion-magic foundation, and he knows that chittaphon will also help. but with the sheer amount of _things _hoshi had proudly, very _extensively_ written in his third letter on top of proclaiming to him in person, leeteuk knows they either need a lot more, or only a few, but advanced mages.

massaging the bridge of his nose, he shakes his head. aterna sports a decently sized population, but with so little affinity for illusionary magic, especially when it‘s needed – it seems like a bad joke, really. he has always prided himself over the fact that aeterna is_ unique_, possessing no domination of a race in their residents and sporting rather unusual individuals as well, but it’s times like these that he finds himself regretting his position as a mayor to such a illusion-magic-failure of a city.

a thought crosses his mind, but he disregards it in the same instance as it popped up. asking max and yunho to assist the nakamoto clan would be like asking a fire dragon to lit a candle, and he is rather... fond of his head.

the both of them usually keep to themselves anyway, their billowing robes not often seen in the warmer getting streets of aeterna. leeteuk has no doubt that they’d be there for the skyfall festival (they never miss one of aeterna's festivities, he knows that, but they choose to make their presence known to only a few, selective ones), but it’s better for all attendances if he won’t impose on them with his request. well, maybe if he begs nicely.

what makes _that _aspect taste like bitter candy in his mouth is the fact that yunho will probably even happily accept, only to brutally use the favor leeteuk would then owe him in the future to the maximum of its possibilities. the chances of him ending homeless and with no title to his name isn’t unrealistic.

the last time he dared making a request to yunho was also his last one. leeteuk ended up having to cover up the disappearance of an entire _village_, and up to this day, yunho refuses to tell him what exactly happened. leeteuk still isn’t sure if he really wants to know.

and with max? well, leeteuk prides himself to be a rational man, so he doesn’t even _entertain _that thought.

he will have to ask neighbour cities like vildir or divencia as his last resort – come to think of it, doesn‘t vildir owe them some kind of favour? sure, it’s mark who took care of their banshee problem – ugly things, really – and while they had already paid the warlock, it won‘t hurt to ask them for a potent illusion mage, their generosity probably in a better mood after the clearance of the curse.

but it would be a bit bothersome – if vildir has illusion mages, they'd have to learn the act and the story that was being played and practice with seventeen a lot, and given the considerable amount of distance between aeterna and vildir, they'd have to be accommodate them in aeterna itself as well. he already feels a headache coming.

leeteuk would like the process to be as easy as possible and not deal with an even bigger amount of paperwork that he‘d have to sign to guarantee the safety and accommodation of the borrowed mage(s), what would happen if something_ did_ and so on.

no, it‘d have to be someone close. preferably from aeterna, but the chances are slim. 

he has every citizen's application form and information in his office, a neat report card containing the information of their races and abilities. leeteuk has skipped through them all, and came out none the wiser.

he‘s sure there‘s _someone_ with undetected, illusionary potential out there, someone he must have missed. leeteuk distinctively thinks of a casting of some sort, knowing donghae suggested something similar. he shakes his head – the idea sounds ridiculous enough in his _head_, so he doesn't want to voice it out aloud.

oh, wait. leeteuk suddenly straightens. didn‘t he go over a special form just two months ago or so? and had stored that away from the rest due to wanting to take a look at that again? must have slipped his mind.

looking at the battlefield that his desk is, he sighs. he‘d need hours to find the form he is looking for.

four hours, three <strike>desk</strike> world dominations and five cups of coffee later, leeteuk finally finds the form he is looking for, sitting comfortably in his second drawer of the lowest shelve in his office labeled so horrifically that he can‘t even read his own handwriting anymore. must have been a bad or a really drunk day (although he can't get drunk. but it's the thought that counts.)

leeteuk pointedly ignores the fact that he wouldn’t have needed to give half of his life to the white monsters on his desk if that damn form resided within a _drawer_ anyway.

his dark eyes skip over the form regardless, leeteuk choosing to swallow his bitterness with even more bitter coffee. now he remembers why the application stuck with him. most points are already interesting enough, but for now, only one thing is important. and potentially life saving.

„donghae,“ he calls, allowing himself to giddily spin in his chair a bit. „donghae, i need you to do something for me.“

„get those burgas yourself,“ comes the distant voice, indicating that there are at least several walls separating them. leeteuk rubs his temple.

„it‘s burgers. and no, it‘s nothing of that sorts. just come here and i‘ll explain everything. the fate of aeterna might as well reside in the person i have just found."

leeteuk is completely aware that he, in fact, is _not_ exaggerating things, and with the way donghae nearly tumbles head on into his desk which he just spent the energy of an entire century cleaning, his employee slash friend thinks so as well.

„who do you want me to get?“

* * *

the knock on his door comes a day later. leeteuk can finally greet people in his office without any problem again, and although there still is leftover exhaustion clinging to his eyes, he makes sure to put on his smile. “please, come in.”

his smile grows smaller, more real when taeyong shyly peaks through the door, the magic wielder as pristine and ethereal as ever. his steps barely make a sound on the black, wooden floor, and leeteuk envies taeyong for the ability to make his simple chair look like a throne.

„sorry, donghae threw the original chair at me last week. it got destroyed in the process of self defense.“

taeyong raises an eyebrow, eyes flittering around the room, taking in random works of paintings leeteuk likes to purchase. he regularily replaces them, and chances are that the entire walls will look different in just two weeks. 

„did you deserve it, though?“

the man in question chuckles, asking if the other wants tea or coffee. when taeyong declines, leeteuk makes room in the middle of the desk to slide taeyong a copy of his application form towards him. the blue haired man leans forwards, eyes furrowing at the words circled in red.

„i‘m afraid i can‘t quite follow what it is that you want from me.“

„how familiar are you with our festivities?“

a thoughtful look crosses the younger‘s face. his marks shine when he tilts his head a bit, and leeteuk has to forcefully pull his eyes away from the silver reflection.

„from what I have heard, aeterna hosts a lot and likes them grand. i’m afraid my knowledge doesn‘t go further than that, though. i should have informed myself a bit more beforehand, i apologize.“

leeteuk waves him off, hoping to wipe that somewhat crestfallen expression away. „it‘s no trouble at all, don’t apologize. i‘m sure you were pretty busy with more important things, settling into a new city and all. add unfamiliar surrounding, maybe a new realm as well. plus, you‘ll learn a far more by experiencing it firsthand, no?“

„if you‘re talking about me coming to the skyfall festival, then yes, of course. i already planned doing so beforehand.“

„i‘m talking about a different kind of participation on top of that,“ leeteuk says with a smile he knows makes his dimples show. „unfortunately, aeterna is lacking illusion type mages. potent enough to get involved in the planned main act, that is.“

recognition flashes over taeyong‘s face. „ah,“ he mumbles, slowly leaning back and folding his hands over his knee. „that‘s why you sent donghae to fetch me.“ there's is an unmistakable glint in his eyes, ocean waves curling with the barest hint of anticipation.

leeteuk nods. „it‘s nothing too big.” well, that kind of is a lie. “you‘d be working with chittaphon and part of the nakamoto clan some days a week beginning from tomorrow, on just for a short while. even though it is a bit rushed, it shouldn‘t hinder with your activities as a shopkeeper – i’ll even compensate you for it, should you decide to do it.“

„i wouldn‘t mind. however, i do plan to enjoy the fest activities to the fullest. how long would i be needed?“

„thirty minutes or so. proper times still need to be discussed, but no more than forty.”

taeyong beams at him, lines of his face softening. „i‘d love to, then. do you have any information on what i‘m supposed to do?“

leeteuk fights off his reddening face, not amused by the fact his body still reacts these ways at the slightest hint of affection. „i‘m getting too old for this,“ he mumbles as he leans down to reach for another drawer.

„but hyung, you‘re looking barely a few years older than me.“

“flattery won’t get you anywhere,” leeteuk curtly says, but snorts anyway.

he can feel taeyong’s half smirk, half smile from where he is seated, and leeteuk can’t help but let a soft smile of his own loose, hidden behind the safety of the desk.

he grabs a few stacks of loose papers, briefly skipping the contents before nodding. he pulls himself up, taeyong back to his enthusiastic, lightly shy nature again. leeteuk shakes his head and offers taeyong the papers.

„i‘ve read it myself._ heard_ it so often i can probably recite the entire script.” credits to hoshi spending hours in his office going into every, little detail and _not_ able to read atmospheres. leeteuk tries entertaining him regardless, knowing the performer is a lost case._ “_I admit it’s pretty advanced in some points, but you should be able to pull it off after practicing diligently. oh, and you’ll need to coordinate together with seventeen themselves and the other illusionists, of course. that‘s what the get-togethers are for.“

taeyong slowly nods as his blue orbs keep getting lower and lower on the paper before switching them, reading the others. he hums when he finishes.

„can i keep them? don‘t worry, i‘ll bring them back tomorrow. i just want to practice a little on my own – i‘ve never done illusion magic on such tier before, and even though i’m confident that i will be able to do it, it won’t hurt to test the waters, see if i’m actually up to it.“

the mayor of aeterna has to suppress a fond smile at the clear eagerness shining through the other’s mannerism. if he’s honest, he doesn’t know whether he himself or taeyong is older – but taeyong’s way of taking in new things with such genuine curiosity and enthusiasm is endearing to see, an innocence he doesn’t see to often anymore. it automatically feels like he has a responsibility to the other, but he also doesn’t want to assume things.

„that would be perfect“ leeteuk finally responds. he might have already made copies, so there is no actual need for taeyong to really bring them back – but he doesn‘t need to know that. leeteuk can be a little selfish in difficult, paperwork-filled times like these, right?

in another life, he knows he would ask. but as much as this city shackles him down, it’s his sanity as well. someone like taeyong doesn’t stay here for an eternity, is bound to travel and let the world know of his greatness. the blue haired male is too fleeting for him to touch, soft liquid in his hands that makes it unable for him to properly grasp. so he doesn’t, knows better, opts for watching instead, stealing the little things he could get away with.

it would have hurt centuries ago (maybe), but now it’s just the slight, bitter aftermath of sweet, sweet chocolate on his tongue that is part of the taste itself. he doesn’t regret it, and smiles at taeyong.

„i‘m looking forward to your demonstration, then.”

leeteuk doesn’t have doubts, but it won’t hurt for taeyong to be motiavted, hm?

* * *

when taeyong comes back the next day, he is as excited as a newborn pup, and that sort of excitement is contagious. leeteuk finds himself laughing at the pout taeyong makes when the light haired male briefly thinks the mayor is making fun of him.

being the lenient, indulging person he is, leeteuk agrees, clears taeyong’s doubts and expects to see some wobbly constructions, possibly even moving objects and figures if taeyong is as proficient as he stated in his papers despite having never really used that part of his powers.

instead, leeteuk’s own chair nearly gives away with the force he is gripping it, eyes taking taeyong’s magic in, head barely wrapping around what is filling the room. the question goes unsaid, stuck in his throat, but the other male hears it anyway.

the smirk taeyong gives him is bordering on boisterous, cocky in the way pink stretches over white teeth languidly, but leeteuk knows to look underneath the several more layers underneath it.

sorrow, regret, with a hint of self-loathing that could pass as self-awareness.

“it's my magic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOME THINGS WILL BE CLEARED UP SOON I SWEAR TO GOD
> 
> i'm super slow at revealing things. i never know if it annoys you guys or if you like it. 
> 
> anyway. despite what i said earlier, this CAN be interpreted as onesided love, although… platonic fascination is a much better term? leeteuk holds NO romantical feelings towards taeyeong (he met him like thrice lol), but aknowledges that he would have entertained the thought if different circumstances were given. my ty is just that awesome, bam. 
> 
> my super m fanfic is sitting on 120k and i'm a few words away from introducing the fourth super m member, fucking finally. this will take ages and does sound like a clusterfuck a lot of times, but when it's finished, i hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> thank you for reading and for those who comment - whenever i read a comment i get a motivation spree that results in at least half a chapter. currently none are in my draft, but i have a rough idea what's going to happen. thank you again for sticking through this with me <3


	7. no 7: world unwaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taemin just hadn’t decided whether he wants to tear the man apart even before his patience for this realm expired, or if he’ll stay inside of the shadows for a while longer, even if it makes him feel like his younger self again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m procrastinating my finals for this semester by writing fanfic :D
> 
> not much to say otherwise, but i’m baffled by the kind comments you guys leave me. i'm on cloud 10 everytime I read one and it’s just so – IT MAKES ME FEEL ALIVE MWAAAH. i definitely wouldn’t mind critique as well if you have them – after all, i’m not the best author out there and just kinda… do my things. i have a few fanfics in my bookmarks whose author I WISH i could be on the level on. man. 
> 
> anyway, my other ult bias enters the scene. imagine my shock when hearing they’d debut in a group together lol
> 
> as always, half-assed beta read by myself.

_someone commented on the last chapter how exactly taeyong's marks look. i'm not the best artist (didn't even sign lol) and used a reference (i can't draw by my own for shit), and the marks are supposed to be silver instead of black, but i worked on [THIS ](https://twitter.com/SenseiNatasha/status/1277230948011126784?s=20)even before i started paradisus paradoxum. i left the descriptions of the markings in the fanfic as vague as possible so you could interpret them how you want, and this is MY image of them. however, feel free to change them if you don't like it! _

* * *

he conquers worlds, drives them to ruin without as much as a bat of his eyelashes. fate had not cared for him, so he took matters into his own hands, never regretting the invisible blood that paints them a darker color than his own magic. when screams of agony echo throughout the lands, desperation at its rawest form tearing earth, rivers and mountains apart, he welcomes them with open arms, invites them to a peaceful slumber. never did he regret a single action in his live, and neither _will_ he.

so why – why does taemin hide in his shadows, too much of a _coward_ to do something as simple as revealing himself when he’s used to feeling worlds crumble beneath his fingertips?

in the forest, he had merely wanted to chase them out. the two men – one beast, one inhuman, as far as he was concerned – were being too loud, making the shadows under watchful trees curl in unpleasant waves, enough to trigger taemin’s attention where he had been wandering elysion. taemin does not kill mindlessly when it’s not the realm’s time. quite the opposite, actually. people whom he blesses with his presence always whisper when he passes, but are never silent enough for his magic to carry the words to him.

a touch of epiphany, hints of astonishment, wondering. desire. always longing, always watching, but never able to touch. despite all that – taemin is a _gentleman _when he’s in the open, holding doors for blushing, old ladies, smiling at little children when they accidentally bump into him and do not care to apologize. he always has to keep his shadows from devouring them afterwards, but it’s just a testament to his self-control as much as it is a mocking attempt at showing mercy.

only when taemin is getting increasingly bored, when the worlds loose their unfamiliar touch and there’s nothing left for him to explore does his smile turn into one last, icy and horrendous picture, the magic he keeps under check bursting free, encircling each and everything and swallowing until there is no more.

but earth is still a century or two away from that because taemin manages to find so many, delightful little things, so he’s nothing but a_ gentleman_ when he let’s the two of them go. taemin did not spare the beast a second glance, but as he had watched their retreating forms running towards the edges of a city he knows to be aeterna, he did not expect having to consciously reel his shadows back when they started to chase after them again. after _him_.

taemin didn’t get a good look at either aside from their general silhouettes, but he found that his shadows had already familiarized themselves with the one who had been riding on the beast's back.

parts of him were – still are – unusually conflicted. annoyed. something taemin never is because he’s much more self-aware than any other, ignorant being and knows how to dissect the few, prominent emotions when they surface within him. but his magic acting on its own hasn’t happened since he himself had_ conquered_ it, forcing it into submission, and the fact that he has lost control over them (even for the shortest amount of time) displeased him to unimaginable lengths.

however, beneath all that he also sees a spark of interest igniting. and because taemin is so unlike the feeble, superficial men on earth that try to hide their desire behind actions in hopes of getting rid of their self-inflicted guilt, he _indulges_ and lets his shadows lead him.

what had initially been planned as a small digression to get behind the reason why his shadows had been acting up resulted in another. and another, until taemin suddenly found himself as one of the customers of the inhuman himself, casually browsing through the display as if he hadn’t already familiarized himself with the collection.

the act of putting on the skin of another to get up-close, personal glimpses of the object of his current fascination had become almost a routine for him, and this… secretiveness gets under his skin more than he likes to admit. he does so anyway, because anything else would be the same ignorance he resents people for.

because taemin thrives off of being watched, to let everyone see that no, it’s not just their imagination – they_ are_ inferior to him. surely does he spend most of his time outside of the light, but that’s a conscious choice of his and _when_ he steps into the world, taemin doesn’t need to turn his head to feel all kinds of eyes on him, hungry for each crumble taemin allows, because that's all they'll ever get in their pathetic lives.

so yes, it’s almost unbecoming of him to hide from the man he _wants_ to be seen from for so long, and the worst thing is that for all the self-perceptiveness taemin prides himself for having, he can’t seem to figure a proper reason out as to why he doesn’t forfeit his disguise.

there was furry building inside of him when taemin had realized it for the first time, unfamiliar and reserved for when he was younger, less experienced. but it also mixed with dejected _yearning_, and just because taemin doesn’t know the reason for his behavior, doesn’t mean he can’t _ act_ on them.

taemin just hadn’t decided whether he wants to tear the man apart even before his patience for this realm expired, or if he’ll stay inside of the shadows for a while longer, even if it makes him feel like his younger self again.

he naturally settled for both – why do people even go through the hassle to decide when it’s in their ability not to? - and postponed his need to watch the man bleed under him in favor of observing him a bit more.

so taemin continues following him around, moving from shadow to shadow when the blue eyed male leaves his house, and cloaking himself in his magic, shifting his entire appearance into something else when the other ventures into more open, wide spaces where the lights are too bright and the darkness doesn’t reach as much.

he learns his name – taeyong, spoken and stuttered hastily in a brief conversation between said man and a blushing, orange eyed kitsune. it comes hand in hand with the discovery that taeyong is the keeper of a magic shop in aeterna. judging by the way the blue haired male hesitates when greeting neighbors, his smile a second too late when people confront him in the open, taeyong doesn’t appear to have been here for too long.

it fills taemin with some weird sense of satisfaction, knowing he didn’t miss much of his presence, but taemin also does not care to evaluate that.

in the following day, he discovers that taeyong lives in a humble attic just above his shop, connected by a set of small, rather unsafe looking stairs ascending from a small storage room you could access when going behind the counter. taemin expected it to be stuffed to the brim with personal, little gimmicks and things that each hold a personal connection with the blue haired man given by how his shop looks, but to his surprise, the attic lacks any, distinctive feeling of personality, harboring the most basic colors and wooden furniture.

the only thing that comes close to even remotely expressing some sort of emotional attachment to his home is the non-magical turtle taeyong keeps inside of a well-kept tank on top of his nightstand. the shop owner feeds, pets and coos at it so much that taemin had begun developing a sort of grudge whenever his eyes laid their sight upon those animals in the wild, not feeling particularly sorry when ending those creature's life.

back to the matter at hand – for someone harboring so much useless _love_ and _affection _towards an insignificant, lower life form, the rest of the attic felt unusually empty, something taemin will get to the bottom of as well.

and taeyong continues keeping him on his toes, keeps surprising him in the most unsuspecting ways.

when food falls from his plate for the first time, taemin expectes him to immediately throw it away, seeing as taeyong has the tendency to clean his attic two to three times in a row just because he forgets to stop. even the shop itself, despite the items being all over the place (and even then it’s some sort of wild, _structured_ mess), are never victim to the slightest layer of dust. additionally to that, taeyong is paying a lot of attention to his hygiene, washing hands more vigorously than the average man and showering for a long, long time ( t aemin likes to indulge himself, but to contrary belief he does _ not_ look, even if it _is_ rather tempting).

but taeyong just blinks at the mixture of mashed potatoes and vegetables on his fork, blowing at it once before shrugging and sticking it into his mouth. taemin, in fact, does not nearly falls from his chair on the opposite side of the table when he sees that.

when rude customers demand refund for things that they broke themselves out of sheer incapability (or can’t use out of sheer stupidity), instead of growing annoyed or angry or _claw__ing__ their insides out_ taeyong does that bright smile of his, as if a favorite customer just promised to give him a life-time supply of candy (which, taemin found, taeyong absolutely adores).

and while giving their money back, taemin can’t even detect any sense of hidden malice in those pretty eyes of his, no carefully, composed wrath kept aside for later opportunities.

at some point, taemin grows accustomed to the happy, albeit shy façade of the shopkeeper when guests need help with their selection or purchase overall, so he is caught off-guard _once again_ when taeyong doesn’t sent a black haired, nervous looking boy his usual smile but rather a smirk, the duration of the boy’s stay spent prowling through the small isles of his shop, not unlike a feline predator.

he does that occasionally – not too often, but always with the same customers, as taemin notes. after growing used to the sudden personality switch taeyong seems to have in a rather inconsistent manner, taemin finds entertainment in watching his painfully polite and bubbly side changing into that of a self-assured, undaunted one.

taemin craves to know things, and taeyong is a box of surprises he can’t see the bottom of.

it’s an itch he wants to scratch as much as he wants to rip it out entirely, but the male has millennia of experience, is more comfortable in his body than any other – so gradually, taemin evolves from feeling annoyed, frustrated with himself when his breath gets caught in his lungs whenever taeyong goes against all of his expectations _yet again,_ to becoming rather fond of the unusual sensation.

sometimes, it seems like taeyong _knows_ he’s being watched for every single, little detail he slips. he almost always manages to find some kind of loophole through all the calculations, alternatives and opposite scenarios taemin comes up with when confronted with an unfamiliar situation he does not know taeyong’s reaction for. otherwise than that, taeyong shows no sign of noticing, and taemin thinks he would have commented at the figure casually splayed across the shop’s counter already if that were the case.

and sometimes, taemin also asks himself how taeyong will react if he were to reveal the fact that he knows more about the blue haired male than any stranger should.

it’s one of his more entertaining thoughts, taeyong all flushed in front of him, not able to contain his agitation when hearing taemin’s words, and chagrin would paint his cheeks a tantalizing red that wouldn’t quite subdue within the next minutes he’d spend fruitlessly pressing taemin for answers for his behavior.

but taemin also knows that what he expects is most often than not different than what taeyong actually does. would he greet him with a smile, then? happy to find out who found him important, interesting enough to follow around more than what’s commonly accepted?

that thought ignites even more of a tingle within taemin than the previous one, and this time he doesn’t uproot it, lets it settle into his cold form, fascinated when the bud emits the faintest of light that does not chase his own shadows away.

* * *

taemin continues watching, and naturally, he gets to know the people taeyong interacts with as well.

despite being newer (although it settles in quite nicely), the shop already has several, regular costumers. an old man that keeps claiming taeyong’s soils make the even most difficult plants grow spectacularly, a pair of gnomes that stop by every monday to purchase a new, magical puzzle to figure out, sometimes coming twice a week when they manage to solve it particularly early. there’s also a charming woman, eyes and smiles as bright as her name when she comes into the shop each wednesday and sunday to purchase special flasks that would keep her voice’s songs contained.

taemin also sees chanyeol coming through the door in a bit more irregular intervals. he brings an old, worn journal with him each time, and there is always a weird mix of hesitation and confidence in the depths of the phoenix’ eyes when they land on taeyong’s comically smaller form.

the fifth time chanyeol visits, taemin notices that he doesn’t clutch the journal to his chest anymore, gone from his person. the tension in his shoulders seem to have been reduced as well, and his overall, relaxed demeanor is quite an unusual sight for the shifter. taemin is curious to know what he’d find inside of the worn cover, and whether it is still in chanyeol’s possession.

taemin knows the phoenix still sees ashes burrying entire landscapes when sleep takes over, but it remains only for chanyeol to know if perhaps the sky changed from an angry, flaming red to a softer, dark orange.

before, taemin envisioned that he would be the one to finally put chanyeol to peace with an endless, dreamless sleep, but it seems like taeyong is beating him to it in an entirely different way.

a more frequent customer is the kitsune, the same one whom he’d gotten taeyong’s name from. ten (for some reason, taeyong calls him an entirely different name – but that’s a long one and taemin is_ not_ interested) is a pretty, little thing, nimble on his toes whenever taemin sees him walking towards the doors of taeyong’s shop, but always growing remarkably clumsy and so, _so_ predictable when inside. it would serve as a definite source of entertainment to see the usually so noble, kept-together, witty man stumble over every second sentence, if not for the fact that ten blushes and gestures so _obviously_ in a way that it's painful to watch, even for taemin's sadistic nature.

as much as the secondhand embarrassment wants to make him avert his eyes, taemin is rather gleeful to see taeyong not commenting on most of the kitsune’s advances. just like with that warlock, he occasionally does slips into his prying, cocky personality that flirts back instead of shyly batting his eyelashes at more or less direct compliments, but it’s always a mixture of seriousness and playfulness that seems to make it hard for the kitsune to properly react to anything taeyong does or say.

and if he thinks ten is bad – taemin wasn’t prepared when he chose to pay proper attention to the warlock, noticing he is quite the regular patron as well.

mark is already skittish when watching the sign dangling above the entrance, throat visibly gulping a few times before the black haired male goes inside, but he changes from skittish to absolutely helpless and _hopeless_ within record time that it still manages to fascinate taemin as if it was his first time watching mark.

taemin very rarely feels enough empathy to go as far as _feeling sorry_ for others, but mark might actually come close with the way the young warlock has to avert his eyes with blushing cheeks from taeyong each time the other does so much as look at him.

mark buys a lot as well.

taemin knows his line of work needs to have a rather steady supply of all kinds of ingredients for curses, counter-curses, potions and the like, but he really does not know how big the warlock’s home storage must be with the rate mark keeps and keeps buying from taeyong. the only thing that manages to impress taemin just a tad more is the fact that the blue haired male is actually able to keep up with him.

mark is by far the most frequent customer, going every third, sometimes even second day to buy things as an excuse to see the shopkeeper, and taemin thinks taeyong might just be able to pay the rent and other living expanses simply through mark alone this month.

there are more patrons, but they don’t interest him as much as the others, but a one-time encounter had surprised taemin and is also, regrettably, still sticking with him.

taemin had sensed him while he spent his time in taeyong’s bed, reading through an interesting, herbal guide he bought disguised as a vampire fledgling just the day prior. the enormous pressure of magic caught taemin off-guard for the briefest moment, but he relaxed soon enough when max was gone within the next minute.

it had either been a short, practical visit out of necessity, or a short indulgence on curiosity and then deciding it wasn’t worth much of his time. either way, he didn’t appear again, and taemin is the last person to complain about that, mainly because max and yunho are one of the few people that are able to rival him in terms of power. their possessiveness when finding shiny, new toys is also rather irksome at times. taemin can deal with the helpless customers, but if those two sink their claws into taeyong? now, _that_ is an entirely different matter.

taemin also saw kai – _j__ongin_, once. he had been walking in his human form (quite an unusual sight for him, seeing as he preferred the skin of his other side), and with the way he was walking by the shop, taemin thought he would enter. had he been the beast taemin chased out alongside with taeyong? 

jongin deterred in the last second though, turning and simply walking back into the direction he came from, and taemin hadn’t followed because kai doesn’t like when he does that in addition to seemingly being the only person in this realm able to tell taemin from the shadows apart.

kai is also one of the few beings worthy enough to hold the status as his friend, so naturally, taemin had been just a bit more intrigued afterwards and made a note to ask him about it when they’d meet again.

there will be an opportunity for that soon enough without actually having to approach the wolf directly.

it’s been something taemin himself is looking forward to – aeterna’s skyfall, a festival that honors the light of the stars and the respective usage of astral magic. something taemin usually doesn’t dwell in, but makes an exception for.

he had already attended twice, but taemin found that the second time (despite possessing the same, general structure), differed so greatly from his first experience that he had made up his mind of attending a third time just shortly after his second visit.

so many creatures, people and beasts would come, especially now, and it’s always a delight to see all kinds of different manifestation of magic and its users. taemin is especially looking forward to the shower of light aeterna always keeps as a climax for the final, third day.

he knows kai will come together with his pack (as they always do), and since skyfall will take place in less than a week, taemin can converse with him _and_ possibly use that chance to confront taeyong without his shadows because he… feels like it would be the best opportunity.

there’s another thing to look forward to – taemin knows, had firsthand seen that taeyong will participate himself in the performance this year despite being relatively new. the blue haired shopkeeper meets up regularly with ten and other kitsunes from the nakamoto clan once a week to coordinate their performance.

taemin recalls having felt a distance sense of relief upon noticing that ten keeps himself a lot more composed when there are more people than just taeyong present, his red ears nearly gone when speaking with said person.

they go over their roles in their meeting, evaluating the theoretical aspect in each step of their script and discussing how they will coordinate their illusion magic with each other and so on. they do actual practice as well in one of the town halls, but taeyong never participates, no matter how much the others bug him about it. taemin wants to scoff at their impatience (and ignorance), how they can’t seem to comprehend that taeyong _will_ show what he’s hiding behind that slightly bashful smile of his. taemin know's that it will probably put their illusion magic to shame.

in those meetings, taemin also discovers that he’s friends with one of the nakamoto kitsunes. taeyong talks with yuta more freely than taemin recalls him talking to any other person, even with mark whom he seems to nurture a growing soft spot for, but it’s always in a light-hearted, warm way, occasional jabs and jokes placed in between. overall it projects a trusting relationship that speaks of past interactions, and he wonders in what time (and for how long) taeyong had been in aeterna before. 

there is no desire for more in yuta’s eyes as he watches taeyong exposing the skin of his throat when the blue haired male tilts his head back to laugh, and taemin finds it to be a pleasant observation – taeyong is objectively beautiful, gaining the attention of many when he does something as simple as petting a familiar of a witch in the middle of an ally, but yuta appreciates him for the layers beneath his outer appearance.

as taemin leans against the wall, watching how the moons make the marks on the blue haired male’s sleeping form glow, he remembers taeyong inviting yuta over for a round of tea in his attic after half a day of practice, and the horrific expression that took over his face when he saw the kitsune stealing the last pieces of candy taeyong had kept hidden from the world’s (but apparently not yuta’s) view.

he remembers smiling at the scene himself, then freezing when he noticed the unnatural stretch of muscle on his own face, and then freezing even more when he found that he didn’t mind it nearly as much as he would have thought.

maybe…

_just maybe..._

_taeyong would not meet ruin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my finger slipped and taemin is some kind of lowkey creep.
> 
> not that he's really aware of his stalking habit, seeing as it's kinda natural for him and he think it's normal to pursue knowledge that interests him. not that i can really justify it though HA
> 
> also, don't be too confused about jongin and kai! he's kai in his wolf form, and jongin in his human form. taemin (and others) usually refer to him in general as kai and only as jongin when talking specifically about his hooman version since he prefers his beast nature (although i do think jongin suits him better, but this way it makes a bit more sense with his stage persona yada yada)
> 
> next chapter will finally be in taeyong's pov (finallyyyy). i do plan on putting some healthy, totally self indulgent fan service (please don't shame me) in the following chapter(s , don’t know how long the skyfall ‘arc’ will stretch) since i'm deprived of love and ship people excessively as a consequence cauz of that. in case you missed the link to how i imagine taeyong's marks:
> 
> https://twitter.com/SenseiNatasha/status/1277230948011126784
> 
> (i legit revived a dead, never used account just to have a link since the insert image thing doesn't really work for me?
> 
> i'm also writing a questionable, explicit one-shot for my recent favorite pairing akechi and akira.  
.  
.  
.  
i should really study.


End file.
